Former InternetNZ head named as Mega boss

Kim Dotcom's new cloud storage business Mega has hired the man recently overseeing standards for internet business in New Zealand.

Vikram Kumar was announced yesterday as Mega's chief executive, a month after the company was launched at Dotcom's north Auckland mansion.

Kumar takes up the role after leaving InternetNZ in early January to seek out "new opportunities". Internet NZ acts as a lobby group and industry clearing house for setting standards, setting direction for internet development and championing faster and more reliable internet.

In the three years at the non-profit group, Kumar had doubled its membership and broadened the body's role as a leader in developing the internet's role in New Zealand. He was credited with giving the body greater political influence through a clearer focus on its mandate.

The launch of Mega was seen as a provocative move while Dotcom and three colleagues await extradition to the United States on charges of criminal copyright violation. The service operates as a cloud storage site with built in encryption, meaning only users and those they share file access with know what is stored online.